Ohio Roller Girls Bout 4 Recap

Take-Outs versus Sprockettes

The No. 1 seed Take-Outs put on an impressive display of skill, speed and teamwork, as they defeated the No. 4 seed Sprockettes, 186 – 48.

After six jams, the bout was tied at 11 points apiece, leaving fans to wonder whether this would be a closer bout than we had expected. Then HellionBOI~> and Alli Catraz combined to jam for 16 unanswered points, and the Take-Outs reminded fans why they are the two-time defending Envy Cup champions.

A few stats that highlight the Take-Outs’ performance:

HellionBOI~> outscored the entire Sprockettes team, 51 – 48

The Take-Outs outscored the Sprockettes in 27 of the bout’s 37 jams

The Take-Outs jammed all 10 of their active skaters

It wasn’t all bad news for the Sprockettes. Every Sprockettes player showed that this is a team prime to contend in 2009, or even to win the consolation bout in July. In particular, here are two very early 2009 Players to Watch:

Ziggy StarBUST: The 2007 Most Improved Player just continues to get better. She can play any position on the track, and has stepped up to fill Tha Devil’s shoes as the Sprockettes captain. Expect Ziggy’s leadership to spark the Sprockettes 2009 turnaround.

Wendra Woman: Wendra is competing for the 2008 Rookie of the Year award, and is sure to compete for the 2009 Best Jammer award. She was solid in the bout, jamming for 20 points against the Take-Outs’ stingy defense.

Blackeye Bullies versus Band of Brawlers

The No. 2 seed Bullies took advantage of untimely penalties by the No. 3 seed Brawlers to defeat them, 102 – 91, and advance to the Envy Cup Championship against the Take-Outs.

Early on, the Brawlers’ strategy was working. They rotated four jammers – drrty grrl, Gypsy Warfare, Kitty Liquorbottom and Hurricaine Jane – against the Bullies’ dynamic duo of Barracuda and Hell Camino. The four-woman rotation kept the Brawlers jammers fresh, and helped them to build an early 41 – 27 lead.

Then, the Brawlers committed costly penalties that put their jammers in the penalty box. The Bullies took full advantage, and closed out the first half on a 32 – 9 run. With a 59 – 50 lead going into the second half, the Bullies began playing the physical, grinding style game fans are used to seeing from this team. Despite their best efforts, the Brawlers’ jammers were rendered ineffective in the second half, as the Bullies outscored them 43 – 41, and closed out the victory.

Players of the Bout:Bullies: Kill Basa – Sure, Barracuda and Hell Camino combined for 85 of the Bullies’ 102 points. But Basa drew penalties and frustrated the Brawlers jammers, which was the difference in this bout. This was Kill Basa’s OHRG breakout performance.

Brawlers: The jammers – The Brawler jammers scored 91 points against a Bullies team that had previously allowed an average of only 73 points per bout. They fought through a tough Bullies team during the entire bout, but were a few jams short of a victory.

The Take-Outs are a group of veterans looking to collect their third Envy Cup championship in three years. They spent the past few months showing the rest of the league that they are ready to three-peat as champs, en route to an undefeated regular season.

In contrast, few of the Sprockettes had played together prior to this season. While they finished the regular season with a winless record, they have showed marked improvement. After the Take-Outs embarrassed them 151-46 in the first bout of the season, the Sprockettes may have become the hungriest team in the league.

In this David versus Goliath bout, it's difficult to root against the Sprockettes and their awesome trio of jammers, in Mase-a-Saurus Rex, Phoenix Bunz and Wendra Woman. Besides, they would love nothing more than to defeat the defending champs in the playoffs.

But the Take-Outs may just be too much for the Sprockettes to handle. The Take-Outs' own trio of jammers – Foxy Force, HellionBOI~> and Alli Catraz – have been unstoppable, and their blockers have held opponents to a league-low 56 points per bout.

Bottom line: The Sprockettes have come a long way during the regular season, but you can't overlook the Take-Outs' playoff experience. PREDICTION: Take-Outs win, 85-60.

Players to Watch:
Sprockettes: Phoenix Bunz and Wendra Women – these rookie jammers combined for 15 points in the season's first bout, 26 in the second, and 42 in the third. Look for the upward trend to continue against the Take-Outs.

Take-Outs: HellionBOI~> – The Take-Outs' success can be attributed to strong teamwork and unselfish play, which makes it difficult to single out one player to watch. But the glamour goes to the jammer, and Hellion's 31 points-per-bout average makes her the star.

#2 Blackeye Bullies versus #3 Band of Brawlers

When these teams matched up in March, Barracuda jammed for 45 points to lead the Bullies over the Brawlers, 98-70.

Ironically, Barracuda's strong performance may have given the Brawler blockers the wake-up call they needed. The Brawlers responded to that bout with a convincing 104-56 victory over the Sprockettes. While they lost the final bout of the season to the Take-Outs, the Brawlers played solid defense, holding the high-scoring Take-Outs to a season-low 73 points.

The Bullies, on the other hand, are limping into this bout. They lost the second bout of the season, 83-68. And after they jumped out to a huge lead against the Sprockettes in the final bout of the season, it took until the last jam of the night – and one last burst of energy from Barracuda – to seal the victory.

The Bullies may be the favorites to win this bout, but it won't be easy. Barracuda will need to show off her league-leading 32 points-per-bout average for the Bullies to succeed, and she won't be able to carry the Bullies to victory all by herself. She'll need plenty of help from Hell Camino (who has been nothing short of awesome, averaging 24 points-per-bout) and the rest of the team.

Bottom line: Sure, the Bullies beat the Brawlers convincingly three months ago, and they still have the league's reigning MVP playing like an MVP. But it wouldn't be the playoffs without an upset, and drrty grrl, Gypsy Warfare and Kitty Liquorbottom are poised for revenge. PREDICTION: Brawlers win, 75-70.

Players to Watch:
Bullies: Kill Basa – Basa has been solid throughout the regular season, averaging 11 points- and 6 assists-per-bout, but she has yet to have a truly great bout. If Kill Basa can have a breakout performance against the Brawlers, it could be enough to prove my upset prediction wrong and lead the Bullies to the championship bout.

Brawlers: Kitty Liquorbottom – like Kill Basa for the Bullies, Kitty is the Brawlers' wild card. She was quiet in the first bout against the Bullies, scoring 8 points while playing in only 26% of the jams. If Kitty can play to the level of teammate jammers drrty grrl and Gypsy Warfare, the Brawlers will be hard to stop.

I've started writing recaps from the local roller derby league... figured I might as well post them here:

Ohio Roller Girls Bout 3 Recap: Oh for the love of Derby!

Take-Outs versus Band of Brawlers

HellionBOI~> jammed for 28 points and Alli Catraz added 21 as The Take-Outs defeated the Band of Brawlers 73 – 54 to cap off an undefeated regular season and advance to the playoffs as the No. 1 seed.

The Take-Outs took a 36 – 24 lead into the second half. The Brawlers trimmed that lead early in the period when drrty grrl jammed for 10 points while the Take-Outs’ jammer spent a minute in the penalty box. But the Take-Outs responded with a suffocating defense, draining the clock and limiting the Brawlers’ scoring opportunities.

The Take-Outs appeared to be targeting Kitty Liquorbottom, as they held her to 7 points in 13 jams. drrty grrl led the Brawlers with 36 points.

Players of the Bout:
Take-Outs: The entire pack – The collective effort of the Take-Outs’ hard-hitting blockers ultimately won the bout.
Band of Brawlers: drrty grrl – she may have jammed for 100 points against a lesser defense.

Blackeye Bullies versus Sprockettes

The Blackeye Bullies opened its bout against the Sprockettes on a 42 – 10 run, but it took them until the last jam of the night to secure the win, 72 – 66.

After losing their first two games by 105 points and 48 points, respectively, the Sprockettes seemed to be headed in the same direction early in its third game. Hell Camino dazzled as jammer, leading the Bullies’ strong start. Jam after jam, the Bullies gained lead jammer status, as they built up a 32 point lead midway through the first half.

With a commanding lead and the first half winding down, Bullies jammer Kill Basa committed back-to-back major penalties, allowing the Sprockettes to crawl back into the bout and make it a contest. The Sprockettes went into halftime down 46 – 33, looking to regroup against the Bullies.

The Sprockettes came out in the second half as a completely different team, as Mase *a* Saurus Rex, Phoenix Bunz and Wendra Woman led an offensive assault that cut the Bullies’ lead to 2 points heading into the final jam.

Barracuda was impressive throughout the entire bout, scoring 18 points and stifling the Sprockettes’ comeback attempt with her physical presence in the pack. But on the final jam, Barracuda showed why she is the league’s reigning MVP, out skating Wendra Woman to preserve the Bullies’ victory.

Players of the Bout:
Blackeye Bullies: Barracuda – great all-around performance, including an incredible final jam to seal the victory.
Sprockettes: Ziggy StarBUST – the unofficial leader of the Sprockettes’ defense that slowed down the Bullies’ attack, and nearly completed the unlikely comeback.

Maybe I should just be happy with the Indians' debacle in left field. Just when I thought that having Jason Michaels and David Dellucci share left was the worst decision the Tribe could make, Eric Wedge proves me wrong. Last night, he let them both start! Please, please don't make things any worse. You know, like sign Barroid Bonds and make him our left fielder... I'd hang myself.

Speaking of Bonds, let's discuss guys whose last names begin with "B"... I don't like them. A few years back, I was petitioning to get rid of all of the "B's" on the Indians: namely, Broussard, Belliard and Blake. I never really had anything against these guys... they were just blocking other players. When we got rid of Broussard, we (eventually) upgraded to Ryan Garko. When we got rid of Belliard, we (eventually) upgraded to Asdrubal Cabrera. And now we watch Andy Marte sit on the bench, as Casey Blake plays to the level of our left fielders. Oh, and another "B": Joe Borowski... don't get me started. Replace him with a guy like Betancourt... okay, I guess some of the "B's" are alright.

It's very early in the season, but still. Michaels and Dellucci have done nothing, and I doubt there are many fans out there that expect that they will. Do I expect that Ben Francisco will be the savior? Not necessarily. But the Tribe could really use some speed on the bases. Francisco is nothing blazing -- he might steal 20 bases if he played all season -- but the Michaels and Dellucci duo might steal 5. Is Francisco the real deal? Maybe. He did win the International League batting title last season. So what if Francisco takes over LF, and then has a horrible year? I say no big deal... not like we're missing out on MVP-like seasons from Michaels and Dellucci. Bottom line: put him in, coach!